Three easy Valentine's Day menus, from a luxurious brunch to seafood stew and 'bleeding heart' cakes

“I like to get really into Valentine’s Day and go all out with the things my partner and I love the most – Irish oysters, lobster, those sort of things. The recipes here would make lovely options for brunch. Going out to a restaurant can cost a fortune, so I much prefer to buy some delicious things in. I like to do all the cooking myself. He takes care of the drinks!”

Sparkling rhubarb cocktail

Make the rhubarb syrup the day before and decant into a pretty glass jug, alongside a bottle of chilled sparkling wine on a tray with glasses. I like to set this up on a table with flowers to create a lovely occasion. 


MAKES

Eight

INGREDIENTS

• 750g rhubarb, trimmed and chopped
• 150g caster sugar
• Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
• Chilled sparkling wine, to top up

METHOD

1. To make the rhubarb syrup, place the rhubarb, sugar and orange zest and juice in a saucepan and add a splash of water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer gently, uncovered, for 10–15 minutes until the rhubarb is very soft.
2. Strain the syrup through a fine sieve into a jug, pressing the rhubarb to extract all the juice, then leave to cool.
3. Pour a little of the rhubarb syrup into each glass and top up with chilled sparkling wine.

Wild mushrooms, lemon and thyme with runny poached egg

SERVES

Two

INGREDIENTS

• 200g wild mushrooms, such as chanterelles, morels or ceps
• 30g butter
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp finely chopped thyme leaves
• 2 eggs
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Sourdough bread, to serve

METHOD

1. Clean any grit off the mushrooms using a soft brush, then chop them up roughly.
2. Place a large frying pan over a medium heat and add the butter and olive oil. Once the butter has melted, toss in the mushrooms and crushed garlic, season with salt and pepper and add the lemon juice. Increase the heat and cook, tossing, for three minutes.
3. Sprinkle the thyme over the mushrooms and cook for a further minute.
4. While the mushrooms are cooking, poach the eggs in a saucepan of salted boiling water for just four minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
5. Divide the cooked mushrooms between two warmed plates and place a runny poached egg in the centre of each serving. Serve with fresh sourdough bread.

Recipes from Clodagh’s Suppers by Clodagh McKenna (Kyle Books, £20)

Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich, co-owners of Honey & Co in London

"Valentine’s Day is a big night in the restaurant, but everyone’s in such a good mood and there’s a lovely atmosphere – I think it’s one of the best nights of the year. We don’t put on a special menu but in the deli we do some really funky stuff – gorgeous heart-shaped shortbreads with a caramel centre, and these ‘bleeding heart’ cakes – we can never make enough!

Our romance has always been expressed in quotidian ways, like spending twelve hours in a kitchen together without killing each other and still wanting to go home together after that; and coming out with something tasty and easy for your tired and hungry loved one."

Israeli couscous with tomatoes, feta and lemon

SERVES 

Two for dinner, with leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch

INGREDIENTS

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, peeled and finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
• 3 strips of lemon zest, removed with a peeler
• 4 anchovy fillets in oil (or omit and use a little more salt)
• 3 large plum tomatoes, roughly diced
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 500g Israeli couscous (or Greek orzo or Italian fregola)
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 tsp salt a generous pinch of freshly ground black pepper
• 900ml boiling water

To garnish (optional)

• 80g feta, crumbled
• ¼ lemon, sliced really thinly
• 1 plum tomato, sliced
• 2-3 sprigs of basil, leaves picked
• 1 tbsp olive oil

METHOD

1. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan or casserole on a medium heat, then add the diced onion and cook for about five minutes, stirring occasionally. Tip in the chopped garlic, lemon strips and anchovy fillets, and continue frying for another two minutes.
2. Stir in the diced tomatoes, mixing well, and cook for another two minutes before adding the oregano, sugar and paprika. Stir for another minute, then add the Israeli couscous, tomato puree, salt and pepper and stir again until everything is well coated. Add half the boiling water (be careful, it will splatter) and mix well.
3. Allow the couscous to absorb the water fully before adding the second amount. Stir well and cook until completely absorbed.
4. If using, top with the crumbled feta, lemon and tomato slices, and the basil leaves, then drizzle with the olive oil. Serve immediately. 

Recipe from Honey & Co: At Home (Pavilion, £26)

Bleeding hearts (vanilla, rose and strawberry cakes)

The name may be cheesy, but that is the only criticism you could make of these cakes, which are as pretty on the outside as they are within. Cut open to reveal the red heart of the matter. The batter needs to rest for at least an hour.

MAKES

Six muffin-sized cakes

INGREDIENTS

For the cake batter

• 140g unsalted butter
• 200g icing sugar
• 110g ground almonds
• 50g plain flour
• Seeds from ½ vanilla pod
• 120g egg whites

For the filling

• 6 tsp strawberry and rose jam, or ordinary strawberry jam with a couple of drops of rosewater added

For the icing

• 170g icing sugar
• 1-2 strawberries (or ½ tsp strawberry jam)
• ½ tsp rosewater
• A few vanilla seeds (¼ pod) or 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp glucose or honey

METHOD

1. Melt the butter in a small pan on a high heat and cook until it starts to foam, turns golden and catches a little at the bottom, then remove from the stove.
2. A food processor will give the best results for these cakes (if you don’t have one you can make the batter by hand, but you will need to be quite vigorous). Place the dry ingredients and vanilla seeds in the food processor and mix together. With the food processor running, pour the egg whites in a constant steady stream and mix to combine thoroughly. Follow with the hot burnt butter, pouring it slowly into the processor as it works, making sure to scrape in the sticky brown bits at the bottom of the saucepan too – they add great flavour. Set the batter in the fridge to cool for at least an hour (and up to a week).
3. When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Lightly grease six silicone moulds with butter spray (if using metal moulds, lightly butter and flour them). Divide thge batter between the moulds. It should reach about 2cm below the top. Insert a teaspoon of jam into the heart of each one: simply use the teaspoon to push some batter aside, then slide the jam off. As you pull the spoon out, the batter should rise up over the jam.
4. Place the moulds on a baking tray and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes until the smell is irresistible and the cakes are set to the touch (in this case you can only test the edges, as the centre will sink because of the jam underneath). Lay a large piece of baking parchment on top of the tins, set a baking tray on top of that, and very carefully flip them over and allow to sit for 20 minutes.
5. Mix the icing ingredients together in a bowl, squashing the strawberries a little to extract their juice and colour. The icing should be the texture of thick honey, so if it seems a little thick, add a couple of drops of water.
6. Remove the cakes from the moulds and leave to cool entirely on a wire rack before spooning or piping the icing on generously. Let the natural flow of the icing gently trickle down the sides and set. If you want, you can top each one with some fresh rose petals or a strawberry. Once set, these keep at room temperature for two to three days, staying lovely and moist. 

Recipe from Honey & Co: The Baking Book (Salt Yard, £25)

Katie and Rick Toogood, co-owners of Prawn on the Lawn in Padstow and London

“For the five years that Prawn on the Lawn has been open, we’ve both worked on Valentine’s Day. This year, Rick will be at Barnaby’s, our latest opening just down the road from Prawn in Padstow, but we’re hoping to get together for a drink on our break. That’s what we normally do – try to meet up half way to catch up.

"On Sunday, we’re going away and will let someone else cook for us for a change. At home, we’d have fish, perhaps a shellfish stew, lobster or a massive brill to share, with a bottle of champagne.”

Shellfish stew with parsley oil

SERVES

Four


INGREDIENTS

For the parsley oil

• 100ml olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• 3 sprigs of flat-leaf parsley

For the stew

• 8 tbsp olive oil
• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 1 fresh red chilli
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 10 thyme sprigs, leaves only
• A generous splash of Pernod
• 1 fennel bulb, chopped
• 6 medium-sized tomatoes, quartered and roasted (roasting is optional)
• 2 pinches of saffron
• 200ml white wine
• 150ml fish stock
• 600g live mussels
• 350g live clams
• 4 langoustines
• 4 raw tiger prawns (jumbo shrimp), heads and shell on
• A small handful of basil leaves, chopped, to garnish

METHOD

1.  In a food processor, combine all the parsley oil ingredients, blend well, and set aside.
2.  For the stew, heat the olive oil in an extra-large lidded saucepan set over a low heat. Add the shallots, chilli, garlic and thyme, and sweat for about two to three minutes, until soft. Add the Pernod and cook for a further three minutes to cook off the alcohol. Add the fennel and cook for about five minutes, until soft. Add the tomatoes and saffron and cook for another 10 minutes.
3.  Add the wine and fish stock. (If you want to add any steaks of fish, such as ray, bass, bream or gurnard, you could add them at this point.)
4. Cook for four minutes, then add all the shellfish and cover with a lid to allow it to steam.
5. Once the mussels and clams have popped open, about four to five minutes, drizzle with the parsley oil and chopped basil and bring the pot to the table to serve. Some crusty bread is a must.

Salted caramel pots

MAKES

Four (or six smaller servings)


INGREDIENTS

For the caramel

• 125g unsalted butter
• 210g soft light brown (light muscovado) sugar
• 150ml double cream
• ¼ tsp vanilla bean paste
• 2 pinches of sea salt flakes

To serve

• 16 amaretti biscuits (make sure they’re the hard ones, not soft)
• 350ml crème fraîche
• 200g fresh raspberries (about 12)
• 4 sprigs of mint

METHOD

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan set over a medium heat. Add the sugar, the double cream, the vanilla and salt, and mix thoroughly. Bring the mixture to the boil, then reduce to a simmer for about five minutes, until it thickens slightly.
2. Place four amaretti biscuits into four small pots or ramekins (about 240ml capacity), and crush lightly with the end of a rolling pin.
3. Carefully pour the hot caramel mixture over the biscuits and transfer to the fridge until needed.
4. When ready to serve, spoon a little crème fraîche into each pot, top with fresh raspberries and garnish with a sprig of mint.

Recipes from Fish and Seafood to Share by Rick and Katie Toogood (Pavilion, £18.99)